Fireworks and Apple Cider for All!
by Invisible Love
Summary: Sequel to Crazy New Year. Another New Year means another New Years Party! But has Rei found another to celebrate it with? Firework sparks fly between Sakura and Mariah as they battle for Rei's attention. But who's interfering from the sidelines?


**Fireworks and Apple Cider for All!**

**Summary: **Sequel to **Crazy New Year**, all your favorite wacko OCs and characters from and Beyblade are back! And, oh my, characters from Ouran High School Host Club too? Insert dramatic music here.

**A/N: **I bet most of you thought I died, ne? NOPE!

Tenshi: (mutters) Unfortunately…

MuraSakura: (Glares daggers at her best friend) Ha ha… ANYWAYS, yes, I remembered to write my New Year's fic, so don't fret! Please enjoy!

…

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Yelled a certain African-American teen with curly red bangs and shoulder-length dark brown hair, as she tore through the house with an armful of decorations.

"Curse me and my procrastination habits!!" Sakura scolded herself, as she frantically tried to get everything ready in time.

"Gee, now WHY does this look so familiar?" Queried the 19-year-old Knight of Wind, feeling major Déjà vu over the events unfolding.

"Oh shut up, Hiro!" Sakura hissed at him, glaring daggers, while Hiro rolled his eyes at her.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Will you **never** grow out of your procrastination habits?" Hiro wondered out loud, grabbing a glass of apple cider from the table Sakura had just finished setting up. The tora-like teen scowled and snatched the glass from the 19-year-old's grasp.

"Hey, some things are hard to get rid of…" The soon-to-be 17-year-old stood on tiptoe and yanked on a strand of Hiro's auburn locks. "…Unlike your **hair**, apparently!"

Over the past year, the Knight of Wind had gone mental and cut off ALL his long hair! Now it was almost as short as Saitoshi's!! Sakura nearly had a heart attack when Hiro came home that day. Hiro raised an eyebrow and stepped back a step, making Sakura stumble forward and fall onto the floor since she was still on tiptoe.

"Just **when** are you going to let the whole hair thing go?" The 19-year-old finally questioned, after a few seconds of narrowly avoiding swings from Daddy Frying Pan until Sakura settled down. She had become a little less hotheaded over the past year.

Just a little, though…

Sakura "hmphed" and crossed her arms indignantly.

"**NEVER**. You shouldn't have just gone and gotten your hair cut without warning!" The African-American teen ranted. For a moment, Hiro's expression was unreadable. He then raised his forearm and pressed it against the wall above Sakura's head, putting weight onto it so he was leaning over Sakura. The space between the two was slowly disappearing, and it made Sakura **veeery** uncomfortable.

"…You don't think it looks bad, do you…?" Hiro asked quietly, his face mere inches from the Cherry Blossom Princess.

Now, if ANYTHING was Déjà vu, it was this.

Flushing, Sakura looked away from Hiro and mumbled, "I didn't mean that. I don't think it looks bad, it's just that, it-it was such a **drastic** change…" Hiro got agitated with not making eye-contact with the soon-to-be 17-year-old, and so he took his hand and gripped Sakura's chin, making her turn her head to look at him.

"Why won't you look me in the eye anymore, Sakura?" The 19-year-old wanted to know, a note of irritation in his voice.

_So many questions today…_ Huffed Sakura's head, but the Cherry Blossom Princess was rendered speechless, unwillingly lost in Hiro's auburn eyes.

"Well? Why don't you, Sakura?" Hiro asked yet again. But still, Sakura could do nothing to make her self talk. And Hiro was steadily getting closer…

"Is it because…maybe…I make you feel things you…probably **shouldn't** be feeling…?" The Knight of Wind whispered, now so close that Sakura could feel his warm breath on her lips.

\_Yes…_\ Thought Sakura's heart, when her brain mentally slapped her.

/_What the heck are you **saying**?! You're in love with REI, remember/ _Her brain shouted. At the sound of the name "Rei", Sakura's mind finally unclouded, and her tongue unglued itself to the roof of her mouth. Hiro had taken advantage of Sakura's rare (and surely temporary) silence, and began to make his move, his lips dangerously close to the African-American female's.

"I can't."

Hiro stopped short, and slowly opened his eyes to look at Sakura, who was no longer looking at him, but staring down at her shoes. One of her hands was outstretched and pressed flat against Hiro's chest, preventing him from coming any closer. Hiro almost laughed. Sakura knew as well as he did that when Hiro wanted to, he could easily out-muscle Sakura. But, out of love and respect for her, the 19-year-old backed away, sufficing with lightly kissing the tora-like teen on the forehead. Sakura's face grew as red as a ripe tomato, but she was at least glad that Hiro had given her her space back. Just then, the doorbell rang, making Sakura resume "Panic Mode."

"Oh crap! They're here! They're here, they're here, they're HERE!! Hiro, get the door please!" The Cherry Blossom Princess pleaded, dashing into the kitchen to spread out the rest of the food. Rolling his eyes amusedly, the Knight of Wind did as he was told, opening the front door to reveal the whole BeyBlade crew, Tenshi and Kai leading the pack.

"Heya Hir-ohmygosh!" Tenshi yelped in surprise, upon catching sight of the "new" Hiro. The 19-year-old sweatdropped.

"Is it THAT big of a deal that I got my hair cut?" He asked, tired of all the extreme reactions he'd been getting lately.

"Well YEAH!" Piped up a loud munchkin somewhere in the back of the group. The Blade Breakers parted to let through a tall ashen-haired teen with violet eyes, his fiery Asian girlfriend riding on his back. As they stepped over the threshold and into the house next to Hiro, the girl ruffled his now short hair. "Sheesh! It's shorter than yours, Saitoshi!" She observed, stunned. Hiro gave the 17-year-old a deadpan look.

"Nice to see you too, Hiniku. Aren't you a bit big to be riding on your boyfriend's back? I'm surprised you haven't broken it yet." An anime vein showed up on Hiniku's temple, as she hopped down from Saitoshi's back and glared up at Hiro. Since the "short" Asian had FINALLY had her major growth spurt in the past year and could now reach Hiro's shoulders, her glare was much more intimidating than it would have been last year.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?" She shouted accusingly, very much ready to go on a Sakura-like rampage right then and there. However, her 18-year-old boyfriend hugged Hiniku from behind, calming her slightly.

"Now now, 'Ku-chan. We're here to celebrate New Years with Sakura-chan, remember?" He said soothingly.

"Well then stop with the PDA already! It's sickening!" A certain navy-haired teen by the Tyson complained loudly.

"Aw c'mon Tyson. I think it's sweet!" Proclaimed a brunette next to him. Tyson rolled his eyes exasperatedly at her.

"You WOULD think this kind of thing is sweet, Hilary!" He huffed. Hilary automatically became ticked at this comment.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like, dummy!"

" 'DUMMY'? YOU'RE the dummy, you dummy!"

"No, YOU are, dummy!!"

"Here they go on another one of their lover's spats…" Commented a blond by the name of Max.

"WE ARE **NOT** HAVING A LOVER'S SPAT!!!" Bellowed a beet-red Hilary and Tyson.

"SHADDUP!!" Tenshi finally shrieked, whacking them both over the head with her infamous Wooden Stick of Doom.

"Thank you. They were starting to give me a migraine." Kai muttered, rubbing his temples with the tips of his fingers.

"Wow, the party hasn't even started yet, and it's ALREADY loud!" Sakura observed, an amused smirk gracing her features as she held a piping hot plate of quesadillas. "Well, c'mon in, everybody!" The African-American female invited, leading the way to the dining room. As Sakura ser down the plate of quesadillas amongst the vast table full of food, Tyson crept up behind her, his mouth drooling excessively.

"Oh yum! Everything looks SO delicious!" He complimented, closing in on the food table.

"I wouldn't do that…" Sakura said in a singsong voice, but it was too late. Tyson had already pounced; his eyes alight with the sight of a hot meal. But before the food gobbler could reach his promise land, a tazer out of nowhere came and zapped the mercy out of Tyson! The navy-haired teen fell to the floor, twitching uncontrollably as two identical twin bouncers showed up in front of him, wearing gleaming sunglasses.

"Can't you read??" They interrogated in unison, pushing a sign that seemed to come out of nowhere into Tyson's face. "**No** Tysons allowed!!"

"Told you." Sakura chided after Tyson had stopped twitching, and he glowered fiercely up at the soon-to-be 17-year-old and her bouncers.

"Why I oughta-" He started to threaten, but the twin bouncers merely shocked him at the same time with their tazers.

"Shweet! Saku, how did you get the money to rent your **own** bouncers??" Tenshi wanted to know, amazed. Sakura grinned.

"I didn't." She simply answered. Tenshi eyed her best friend suspiciously. Sakura had **that look** in her chocolate brown orbs…the look she and Tenshi usually shared when they were plotting or hiding something—or both.

"Spill!" The 16-year-old star-obsessed teen demanded. Rather than waste her breath on words, the tora-like teen led Tenshi next door into the living room; past Hilary, who was poking an unconscious Tyson. 4 teens were seated inside, discussing something. One of the teenagers recognized Sakura, Tenshi and Hiniku (who had tagged along), and stood up to greet them. She had long midnight black hair with moonlit silver streaks, tan skin, and a calm, joking smile.

"Hey guys! La li ho!" The 16-year-old greeted.

"KAZE!" Hiniku squealed, glomping Kaze, who, as always, patted the over-zealous teen awkwardly on the back in return.

"How long have you been here?" Tenshi queried, after she and Kaze had exchanged hugs as well.

"Since Sakura had been cooking, so, for a while, actually." The levelheaded teen replied. " She called and asked me to come over because she needed my help with the "Tyson" issue…"

"So I see…" Tenshi said, turning back to eye the twin bouncers.

"Um, not to be rude, but…who the heck are they??" Hiniku asked, pointing to the blonde, brown-haired and black-haired teens seated behind Kaze. But before she had a chance to reply, the blonde stepped up and took a dramatic bow, handing two pink roses to Tenshi and Hiniku.

"Please, allow ME to introduce us!" He announced, his tenor voice seeming to bounce loudly about the room unnecessarily. "I am Suou Tamaki, the great King of Ouran High School Host Club!!"

"Ouran…" Began Tenshi.

"High School…" Continued Hiniku.

"Host Club?" They queried together. The one called Tamaki was too wrapped up in his "introductions" to pay attention to their questions, however.

"Over here," Tamaki continued, gesturing towards the black-haired teen. "Is Ootori Kyouya, the secretary of Ouran High School Host Club!"

"And the Shadow King." Interjected Kaze, but Tamaki paid her no heed.

"And last, most CERTAINLY not least," Tamaki proclaimed dramatically, glomping the brown-haired teen from behind. "This is Fujioka Haruhi, a host of Ouran High School, and my beloved da-"

"DON'T DO THAT HERE." Haruhi scolded, shoving the King away from her. Tamaki fell back into Kyouya, staring watery-eyed at Haruhi.

"Haruhi…WHY?? How can you do that to your FATHER?? Mommy, make her behave!!!" Tamaki cried to Kyouya, while Haruhi sighed exasperatedly at him. Tenshi and Hiniku stood there staring, wondering who the heck these people were, where they were from, and WHAT kind of brain damage they had sustained throughout the years they had lived. Sakura nodded sympathetically.

"Yeah, that's the same expression I had when I first met them." She said, and she and Kaze burst into a fit of giggles. Haruhi smiled apologetically at the two freaked-out teens.

"I'm sorry, Tamaki-sempai tends to get a little bit eccentric and…what?" Tenshi and Hiniku had closed in on the brown-haired "boy" and were staring at "him" rather intently. Haruhi merely blinked big clueless brown eyes. The two 16-year-olds then exchanged looks, nodded, and then pointed accusing fingers at Haruhi.

"WOMAN!" They announced in unison. Sakura and Kaze rose their eyebrows in an impressed manner, while the twin bouncers named Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin came over and stood on either side of Haruhi.

"Interesting. Not many people can be sure of Haruhi's true gender." Commented Kaoru, removing his sunglasses to reveal yellow eyes.

"But then again, girls who have brains should be able to tell the difference. Our customers at Ouran High School are just clueless…" Hikaru said, also unveiling his yellow eyes.

"So you're a CROSS-DRESSER???" Hiniku interrogated, and the group suffered through an anime fall due to her forwardness.

"It's a LONG story…" Haruhi replied, sweat dropping.

"Yup, and anyways, the only reason they're here is because we needed 'bouncers' to keep Tyson away from the food until it was time to eat. These guys just tagged along." Kaze explained, gesturing towards a still-sulking Tamaki, the silent Kyouya, and the harassed-looking Haruhi. Kyouya pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose, as was his signature move.

"The other two members of Ouran High School Host Club chose to spend New Years with their family, however…" He said quietly.

"Ah yes, poor Mori and Honey-sempai. They had to miss all of this fun…" Hikaru deadpanned, as he and Kaoru continued to tazer Tyson, though they were quickly getting bored of the sport.

"There are MORE?? Geez, how many freaks ARE there in the world?" Hiniku inquired, sweat dropping at the thought of more people in a club like THIS.

"I dunno, these guys seem kinda fun!" Tenshi said gleefully, for Hikaru had just lent her his tazer, and she was having a great deal of fun shocking Tyson while taking suggestions from Hikaru on where to shock him next. The star-obsessed teen then noticed Sakura, who was standing in the doorway between the living and dining room, her eyebrows creased in a frown. "What's up, Saku?" Tenshi asked, after giving Hikaru his tazer back and walking over to her best friend/sister. The soon-to-be 17-year-old turned to Tenshi, a billion question marks swirling around her head.

"Tensh, where's Rei? Shouldn't he have arrived with you…?" The tora-like teen trailed off, for Tenshi's expression had just turned stony, a scowl planted firmly on her face. "…Tensh? You okay??" The 16-year-old blinked, then put on an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. Yeah, Rei said he'd be sort of late…"

The doorbell rang and, after a few seconds, Max came back into the dining room. "Uh, Tenshi, Sakura…" The blond started cautiously, fidgeting slightly. "Rei's here now…" Sakura grinned at Tenshi, her chocolate brown orbs lit with excitement.

"Well, speak of the devil!" The African-American teen squealed, then dashed through the dining room to the front door. "Welcome, Rei-ku-"

Sakura stopped short, her eyes widening at the sight in the doorway of the house. Hiro, who had heard Max announce the arrival of the elf, had followed Sakura to give Rei his New Years Glare, and froze in his tracks as well.

There at the front door was indeed Rei, fangs and all…but he was not alone. There was someone else with him, a **girl**, judging by all the pink she wore, and she was giggling and smiling up at him…while latched onto his **arm**. The Chinese neko-jin was blushing and smiling at the girl as well, and it took him a few seconds to realize that Sakura and Hiro were there.

"Oh, Sakura! Happy New Years!" Rei greeted, stepping into the house and embracing Sakura, who stiffened up slightly in his grasp. When Rei pulled away, Sakura saw the female neko-jin frowning at her from over Rei's shoulder.

"Rei…" Sakura called to him in a low voice, bringing her hand to the back of his neck and pulling him down closer to her eye-level. "Who is **SHE**?" The tora-like teen demanded to know, her rage steadily building…though she had no idea why. Rei blinked cluelessly.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind, Saku-chan, but I brought a friend." The male neko-jin explained, walking over to the pink neko-jin and bringing her forward. "Sakura, this is Mariah. She's a childhood friend of mine." Rei said, introducing the girl. She smiled, revealing fanged teeth much like Rei's.

"It's so nice to meet you. Rei has told me SO MUCH about you." Mariah remarked, the tone in her voice sickeningly sweet. Sakura turned her nose up at Mariah and grasped Rei's arm.

"I'd imagine so. After all, I AM his **girlfriend**." The soon-to-be 17-year-old claimed, not bothering to keep the hostility out of her voice. It seemed that the only one who noticed the tension between the two girls was Hiro, for poor Rei was under the impression that they were "getting along". So, Hiro did the only thing he was best at: Glared ferociously at Rei for being a clueless idiot.

_You BAKA! What were you THINKING, bringing another woman to your GIRLFRIEND'S house?? I swear to God, if you end up hurting Sakura, you will NOT live to see the New Year…_ Hiro's thoughts threatened as he followed Sakura, Rei and Mariah back into the dining room, vowing to keep a close eye on the two neko-jins for any funny business…

…

"ALRIGHT! DIG IN, EVERYONE!" Sakura declared, after she had finished saying grace. She kept a cheerful smile on her face while keeping Rei and Mariah under close surveillance. After all, she didn't want to have her other guests be brought into her drama.

"Yum! This food is exceptional, Sakura! You'll probably become a professional chef before **I** do!" Rei complimented, smiling his fanged smile at his girlfriend. Sakura beamed back at him.

"Thank you, Rei-kun." Sakura replied, not hesitating to flash a triumphant smirk at Mariah. The pink neko-jin pouted briefly before grabbing onto Rei's arm again.

"But your cooking is the BEST, Rei-**chan**! I NEVER get tired of it!" She praised, and Rei blushed crimson.

"Thank you, Mariah." The male neko-jin muttered shyly. Mariah took that opportunity to stick her tongue out at Sakura, who glowered at her in return.

Though the rivalry was between Sakura and Mariah, Tenshi glared at the pink neko-jin anyways, thoroughly annoyed with her presence.

"Ne, you and Sakura seem to hold a grudge against that pink girl. What did she do to you in a past life?" Hikaru questioned from behind Tenshi. She turned and gave him a deadpan look.

"She lives and breathes. Isn't that enough?? Plus, I don't think she can take a hint when Rei is OBVIOUSLY taken. She. Ticks. Me. OFF!" The star-obsessed teen ranted, annoyed.

"You should stay out of this, Ten. It's not your fight." Kai told his girlfriend, while calmly eating his food. Tenshi rounded on the Russian blader, her mouth open.

"But…but…BUT! She stole my CDs once! She's a THIEF, I tell ya! Don't be surprised if your CDs mysteriously disappear too!!!" The 16-year-old warned. Kai merely shook his head at her.

"Hmm…too bad you can't sabotage her in some way that prevents her from getting too close to Sakura's boyfriend…" Kaoru suggested, shrugging his shoulders. At these words, Tenshi's mahogany eyes lit up.

"Hey…that's not a bad idea…" The star-obsessed teen murmured, **the look** taking over her eyes. Kai turned around to glare at the Hitachiin twins.

"WHY do you encourage her??" He demanded of the mischievous brothers.

"Alright! I have the **perfect** plan, but to pull it off, I'll need you and you!" Tenshi declared, pointing to Hikaru and Kaoru. She then turned to Kai. "Is that okay?" She queried, using her puppy dog eyes. Kai "hmphed" and crossed his arms.

"Whatever, just leave me out of it." The Russian blader requested. Tenshi's evil grin returned.

"Will do. C'mon, Hikaru and Kaoru, we have work to do!"

…

After dinner, Kaze had turned on the boom box for a bit of-

"KARAOKE!!!" Hiniku, Tenshi, and Sakura cheered enthusiastically. Tamaki became very excited about this idea, and he dragged Haruhi up on stage to sing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart." They were actually very good, and got a very fervent applause as they left the stage.

"Us next, Rei-chan!" Mariah whined, pulling Rei up off of his seat next to Sakura.

"Whoa! Wait a minute-" The male neko-jin attempted to protest, but it was useless. So Sakura watched the two go on stage with an aching heart. And though it only showed through her eyes, Hiro could see her pain, and had to fight the urge to jump onstage and beat some sense into the clueless Rei. As the first few notes of "Barbie Girl" began to play, Tenshi curtly nodded to Hikaru and Kaoru, and the devilish twins disappeared into the next room. Kaoru pulled out a spare microphone from his back pocket, and Hikaru whipped out a tape recording of Tyson singing (quite badly) in the shower, provided generously by Tenshi. They waited for their cue, and then wreaked havoc!

As soon as Mariah opened her mouth to sing her part, the speaker blared her singing…"Hit Me Baby One More Time"??? The crowd burst into hysterics, except for Tyson, who was pretty sure he knew who was REALLY singing, but dared not to say anything. Mariah blushed a deep pink to match the rest of her outfit.

"No, that's not me, I swear!" She tried to convince everyone, but the crowd was too busy laughing to hear her. Totally embarrassed, the pink neko-jin turned to hide her face from the audience, only to be greeted by a bear hug from her childhood friend. Sakura ceased her laughing upon catching sight of the hug, and Hiro had to restrain himself from tearing Rei apart yet again.

"It's alright, Mariah-chan. You did your best, and that's all that matters." Rei consoled her, offering Mariah his special half-grin…the one he usually wore with Sakura. The Cherry Blossom Princess turned away from the heart-wrenching scene in front of her, clutching at her chest, as if she had been shot through her heart repeatedly. Tenshi glanced over at her sister/best friend with a guilty look and then shot Rei and Mariah a fierce look. The Hitachiin brothers exchanged looks, knowing fully well that the plan wasn't going too well right now. The rest of the guests went about their business, oblivious to the drama unfolding before them. Hiro watched Rei and Mariah leave the stage, with Rei's comforting arm around a glee-filled Mariah, and he grit his teeth.

_Curse that stupid elf! I have half a mind to take my foot and-no, wait, just be cool, Hiro. Don't jump into Sakura's business unless you ABSOLUTELY have to… _Hiro told himself, taking a deep, calming breath.

"Okay…time for phase #2!" Tenshi hissed under her breath to the twins, who nodded loyally.

…

"Attention!! Attention! It is NOW 11:02! Time for New Year's Resolutions!" Sakura announced, once she had recovered from the earlier incident. As was the custom, everyone gathered into a circle and sat on the floor. "Okay, now who would like to share their New Years Resolution?" The African-American female asked. Mariah's hand was one of the first to shoot up into the air, so Sakura purposefully ignored her and chose Tamaki to go first, since he was nowhere as **annoying** as the pink neko-jin was.

"My New Years Resolution is to be a better daddy for you, Haruhi!" Tamaki announced, grinning at Haruhi expectantly. The brunette sighed. "Don't hold your breath. You're not even my real father, for starters." She stated truthfully. Devastated at being shot down in such a manner, the King went to go sulk in a corner probably for the rest of the story.

Hiniku chose to go next, and she hopped up and beamed. "Well, since SOMEONE forgot to put my New Years Resolution in LAST year's New Years fic," Hiniku started to rant, glaring at Sakura, who sweat dropped heavily at Hiniku for breaking the 3rd Law of Fiction Stories. "I guess I'll just have to use it for THIS year: I want to grow taller!!"

"Uh…Hiniku-chan? I hate to burst your bubble, but you're ALREADY taller." Saitoshi pointed out. Hiniku blinked stupidly.

"Oh. …Well then, I have no New Years Resolution for this year then!" The fiery Asian declared proudly, and everyone suffered through yet another anime fall caused by Hiniku.

"I want to stop killing of all of the bishonen from EVERY anime I like!" Kaze sobbed, and Tenshi, Hiniku, and Sakura couldn't help but crack up at that Resolution.

"That's a **curse**, Kaze-chan! Good luck getting outta THAT one! Alright, who's next?" Sakura questioned, after she had stopped laughing uncontrollably. Mariah's hand was still up persistently, but Sakura chose to ignore her yet again. "No one?" She asked again, acting as if she didn't see the pink neko-jin's hand waving wildly in the air. Rei noticed it though.

"Uh, Sakura, I think Mariah-chan wants a turn…" He said, puzzling to himself on why Sakura was ignoring Mariah. The soon-to-be 17-year-old rolled her eyes.

"**Fine.** Go on then, Mariah." Sakura grunted, not even trying to mask the malice in her tone. Mariah shot Sakura a dirty look and stood up.

"My New Years Resolution is-"

"-To make out with Rei??" Kaoru cut her off with his question. The pink neko-jin's golden orbs widened, a blush creeping its way up into her cheeks.

"WHAT??? NO, that's NOT what I was going to say at all!" Mariah protested. Sakura frowned.

_What in the world are Kaoru and Hikaru up to??_ She wanted to know, as the twins continued their barrage of embarrassing and rather nosy questions.

"Do you find Rei attractive?"

"Huh? Well, I-"

"Did you and Rei use to go out?"

"That's not-"

"Do you not care that Rei has a girlfriend right now?"

"What are you-"

"Is THAT why you continue to be such a flirt??"

"STOP it!" Rei finally cut in, stepping in between the Hitachiin brothers and a crimson-red Mariah. Rei's cheeks were tinged red as well, but a fierce fire raged in his angry golden eyes. "You just met Mariah-chan! What's it to you what her love life status is? If you ask me, you're being extremely rude, so maybe it'd be better for everyone if you **backed off**!" The male neko-jin hissed.

_Rei-chan…_Mariah thought, her eyes glimmering with appreciation. Sakura abruptly got up, muttered something about needing more sodas, and disappeared off into the kitchen. Tenshi and Hiro were the only ones that noticed though, since Rei was too busy standing up to Hikaru and Kaoru.

_Grrr…c'mon, stay cool, Hiro. Don't lose it now, keep calm…_ Hiro told himself over and over again. His patience was quickly starting to wear thin; however, Tenshi had already reached the end of her rope.

"GAAAAAHH!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!" She screeched, emphasizing each "no" with a punch to the wall…that mysteriously had a bad drawing of Rei on it. Once the star-obsessed teen had come back to her senses, she blinked and pulled the picture from the wall. "Hey, this is a pic of Rei! Wonder how that got there…" She muttered to herself, with the Hitachiin twins snickering behind her.

"Anyways, Tenshi-san, our plans have failed. What do we do now?" Hikaru asked. Tenshi paced in front of them for a few moments, tried clearing her mind with a few minutes of yoga, and then gave up.

"I don't know! Just hit her with everything you've got, I suppose!" The aggravated 16-year-old ordered. Devilish smiles formed on Hikaru and Kaoru's faces.

"Roger that!"

…

And hit her with everything they had they did. In the past half hour, Mariah had been pushed down the stairs twice, been tripped every time she got close to Rei, and had apple cider spilled on her at least 5 times. Finally, the harassed-looking pink neko-jin approached Sakura and glared hard at her. Since the tora-like teen was engaged in a conversation with Tenshi, it took her a few seconds to actually want to acknowledge Mariah's presence.

"Can I **help** you?" Sakura questioned in a tone that she would very much like to help Mariah into a coma. Refusing to be intimidated; however, the pink neko-jin grabbed Sakura's forearm.

"We need to **talk**." She hissed, and proceeded with dragging the Cherry Blossom Princess into the kitchen. Not liking the way her best friend was just manhandled, Tenshi made to eavesdrop on the two, when a hand gripped her shoulder and held fast.

"Let me do it. I can get a better view from outside." Said a voice in her ear. The star-obsessed teen whipped around just in time to see Hiro disappear in a flash of blue wind.

_Oh man…Maybe I shouldn't have jumped into it after all…_ Tenshi thought to her self, biting her lower lip in regret. _Oh well…what's done is done. It all depends on Sakura now…because Kai would kill me if I put Rei in the hospital now…_

…

"Ow! Hey, your claws are digging into my skin! LET me GO!!" Sakura protested, finally wrenching herself free from Mariah's vice grip. The pink neko-jin turned to glare at Sakura, her hands on her hips. Sakura glared right back. "Okay, instead of just standing there, d'you wanna tell me what the heck is your problem??" The tora-like teen snarled. This comment made Mariah catch an even bigger attitude.

"MY problem?? Oh no, it's not about MY problem, it's about YOURS! Not woman enough to face your own battles, huh? You have to go and hire some cronies to do your dirty work!" The female neko-jin spat. Sakura shot an incredulous look at her.

"WHAT in the WORLD are you TALKING about?! Did your mother drop you on the head as a baby or something?" Mariah's face flared up at these words.

"I'm TALKING about those crazy twin brothers you hired to make me look stupid!"

"YOU'RE the crazy one! I didn't tell them to do anything! They must not have liked YOU too much either, because they acted of their own accord!"

"Oh, so you're saying you don't like me, is THAT it??"

"Oh my gosh, you're actually ASKING? Of COURSE I don't like you! I never did!"

"What, are you JEALOUS Rei-chan and I?"

" 'JEALOUS'? YOU'RE the one who's jealous! You're so desperate that you'll flirt with him EVEN if his girlfriend is standing right in front of you!!"

Mariah slapped Sakura. A hard, open-palmed slap. Hiro, who had been hovering outside the kitchen window, saw it with wide auburn eyes. The slap seemed to echo through the kitchen and into the living room, where everyone was seated to watch the ball drop in Time Square again this year. The sound caught the attention of Hiniku, Tenshi, Kaze, and Rei. The five jumped up and rushed to the kitchen to find out what the disturbance was about.

"Mariah!" Rei called, startling the pink neko-jin. "What's going on in here??" Quickly conjuring up some fake tears, Mariah ran to Rei and flung herself into his arms.

"Oh Rei-chan, thank goodness you're here!" The female neko-jin sobbed, and then pointed an accusing finger at Sakura. "I just brought Sakura in here so I could talk to her, and she slapped me! She was so mean to me!"

"What?? But I thought you both were getting along so well…" Rei said, confused. He looked up at Sakura, who was still standing in the same spot, her head turned to the side with a red bruise swelling on her cheek, disbelief etched into her features.

"You are SUCH a liar!" Hiro growled as he appeared in the kitchen, to Mariah's great surprise. He then turned to Rei and the others. "I was watching them the whole time. They started arguing, and then Mariah slapped Sakura!" Tenshi, Kaze, Hiniku, and Rei all turned to look at Mariah.

"You did **WHAT**??" The four questioned in unison. Mariah backed away from the wrath of Sakura's friends, her hands held up in defense.

"Oh c'mon, let's not jump to conclusions…" The female neko-jin began to plead, when Rei roughly took hold of her arm.

"I need to speak with you." He whispered coldly. Mariah whimpered. That was the maddest she had EVER seen Rei before. He yanked her into the hallway as Tenshi, Hiniku and Kaze tried to snap Sakura out of it.

"Sakura! Sakura, are you all right? Oh, this is my entire fault! I shouldn't have gotten involved, let alone get Hikaru and Kaoru involved as well! I am SO sorry!!" Tenshi apologized, her guilt showing plainly on her face.

"Do you want us to kick her butt for you, Saku-chan?" Asked the normally calm Kaze; seeing her friend this way got her riled and ready for a fight.

Finally coming to her senses, the African-American teen raised a hand and felt her swollen cheek. "…I'm alright…" She finally replied, though softly.

"That Rei is an idiot." Hiro snarled, and the girls turned towards him. "What was he thinking, bringing a past love interest into his new girlfriend's house! It seemed to me as if he WANTED you two to fight over him or something-"

"**Shut up!**" Sakura barked, and the surprised 19-year-old fell silent. The soon-to-be 17-year-old was glaring very intensely at him, and if she had heat vision, Hiro would be in some deep ju-ju-bagumbo right now. "How DARE you talk about Rei that way! You don't know him like I do! Rei would NEVER do anything to hurt me!" She screamed, and, not wanting to look at Hiro anymore right now, she turned on her heel and walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

…

"Mariah, WHAT is going on here? You're usually such a sweet girl! What would possess you slap someone, let alone my **girlfriend**??" Rei demanded to know. The pink neko-jin pouted, a sour look on her face.

"I don't like her. I'd dislike **anyone** who would try and take you away from me…" Rei blinked. Had he heard her correctly?

"What…?" He asked, a bewildered look crossing his features. Mariah looked up at him, her golden eyes misted over from unrequited love.

"I love you, Rei. I've loved ever since we were kids. When I found out you had found somebody, I didn't want you to be uncomfortable, so I tried to hide the way I felt. But now…now I must ask…do you feel anything, anything at all for me…?"

"…I-" Rei began, but couldn't finish due to Mariah's lips covering his. His golden-orange orbs widened as his mind went into overdrive.

_Oh no, my childhood friend is kissing me! Aah! What should I do? Um, let's see here… _

Rei's thoughts were cut off as a soul-shattering gasp filled the air, forcing him and Mariah apart. Sakura stood there in the middle of the hallway with a shocked Tenshi and Hiro right behind her staring at the two of them, the hurt and betrayal of the kiss displayed openly on her cocoa brown face.

"Sakura!" Rei called to her, but she just stared back at him in anguish.

"How could you…?" She whispered, heartbroken, and then fled the scene, the crystal tears making their way down her cheeks.

"Sakura, wai-OW!" Rei made to run after his girlfriend, but was delayed by the sharp punch Hiro threw to his jaw. Rei struggled to get back to his feet while the 19-year-old towered over him, glaring yet again.

"What is WRONG with you?? She trusted you! How could you just **betray** her like that!" Rei flinched at these harsh words, as if they sliced open his skin. Hiro huffed disgustedly and stalked off, probably to go after Sakura.

And as for Mariah…Tenshi stormed over to the female neko-jin and slapped her hard across the face. Twice. Mariah fell to the ground, clutching her sore cheeks as Tenshi kneeled before her, cracking her knuckles. "Make sure you know exactly WHO'S responsible for your misery before you go slapping people for it." The 16-year-old ridiculed, and then she left as well. Gradually, Rei got up and, after shooting Mariah a disdainful look, he left her alone in the hallway to search for his beloved.

…

Hiro didn't have to look far for Sakura. He knew where she always went when she wanted to think or be alone, and that was on the balcony outside of the living room. As soon as he opened the door, Sakura stifled sobs reached his ears. The Cherry Blossom Princess heard the door open and turned to glare at Hiro from the corner of a red eye.

"What do YOU want?" She demanded to know, furiously swiping at the tears that stung her eyes. "Come to rub the fact that I was wrong in my face??"

"No." Hiro said softly. He walked over to the balcony railing and leaned against it, listening to Sakura sniffle. "Actually…I'm shocked as well. Rei didn't seem like the kind of guy to do such a thing. I guess I said all that other junk because I was jealous…" The Knight of Wind admitted. Sakura let out another sob, and Hiro looked over at her, alarmed at how upset she was.

"It hurts…it hurts so badly…" She cried, clutching at her chest where her heart was. "It feels like my heart was ripped out and stabbed multiple times. I could never imagine that anything would hurt **so much**. If I can't trust Rei, who CAN I trust…?" Seeing Sakura this way and hearing her talk like that finally made Hiro snap. He grabbed her and pulled her tightly into his arms, pulling her into a slightly rough kiss, but it was tender all the same. After what seemed like an eternity, the two broke the kiss, but Hiro refused to let Sakura go.

"Always know this, Sakura…" He whispered into her ear. "No matter what, you can **always** count on me…" These words brought on a fresh batch of tears for Sakura, and she clutched Hiro's shirt and cried harder than she had in a very long time.

A few minutes passed, and Sakura finally settled down. She smiled weakly up at Hiro. "It seems that me crying on New Years is becoming a tradition." She said jokingly, and Hiro chuckled. Slowly, they pulled away from each other, just in time for Rei to open up the balcony doors.

"Sakura! There you are." The neko-jin sighed, relieved at the thought of finally finding her. Hiro stepped back from Sakura.

"I'll leave you two alone." He said, and proceeded to walk back into the living room. As he was passing Rei, he scowled at the neko-jin. "Don't screw it up this time." The 19-year-old growled, and Rei nodded. Finally having their privacy, Rei approached Sakura, an apologetic look on his face.

"Sakura, I really can explain everything-"

"Then start explaining." The tora-like teen said curtly. Rei sighed. There was NO WAY he was getting off the hook easily this time…

"Well, you see, I had taken Mariah into the hallway because I wanted to know what would make her want to slap you, when she confessed that she was in love with me, and then she kissed me. SHE kissed ME, not the other way around." Sakura's face remained impassive. So Rei continued to explain. "And, while it IS true that I MAY have felt something for Mariah when we were kids-" Sakura's eyebrows rose at this comment. "-Now she's just a friend to me, and nothing more. Because I experienced what love **really** was when I met you…so…I'm sorry I hurt you with what you saw in the hallway. Apology accepted…?" Rei pleaded, knowing he wouldn't be able to live anymore is Sakura rejected him.

For a moment, Sakura did nothing. Then, a slow smile crept onto her face. "You know I can't stay mad at you Rei-kun!" She claimed, jumping into her boyfriend's arms, and he kissed her passionately. Hiro watched the two from the living room, a bittersweet smile on his face.

_So, they've gotten back together. Darn, I was hoping she'd punch him all the way into next week so I could get her on the rebound. Oh well. Like I've said before, if she's happy, so am I._

…

"HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYONE!!" The group of friends cheered, as couples kissed and the others downed apple cider. Mariah had apologized to everyone for being such a spoiled brat, and was forgiven…that is, after a few justified whacks from Daddy Frying Pan and the Wooden Kendo Stick of Doom. Now she was drinking with everyone else, a few large bruises on her head.

"Yay! Your apple cider's **always** the best, Sakura!" Max complimented, ready to take a sip. Sakura's chocolate brown orbs widened, and she raced over and smacked the apple cider out the blond's hands.

"I DON'T think you should drink that, Max. You know what happened last year! Here's some water so we won't have the same problem as before!" The soon-to-be 17-year-old reprimanded, substituting Max's cider with the water.

"Awww!" Max pouted.

As the room erupted into laughter, Sakura glanced around at all the happy faces, smiling serenely herself.

_Well, another year is here. And though my life and the people in it may be insane, I can tell it's going to be another good year._

…

**A/N: WHEW! You guys had BETTER be grateful after the heck I put myself through to type this baby up! I've been up all night, and my body is REALLY sore!!! But anyways, have a wonderful New Year! Don't drink and drive, and REVIEW, PLEASE!!!**

**-MuraSakura**


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